Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Dim and Den Sum Plans Actual Restaurant, More Trucks

Dim and Den Sum has made quite a splash since crashing onto the Cleveland food scene in the spring.

The Asian-tinged restaurant-on-wheels runs on the power of social media: more than 7,000 fans follow its every stop on Facebook and Twitter. For months, the question for owner Chris Hodgson was how best to expand his empire.

The answer came last week, when a partnership was struck with restaurateur Alan Glazen and the red-hot team behind ABC Tavern on West 25th St. and the forthcoming XYZ Tavern in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. In the works, says Glazen, is a bricks-and-mortar Dim and Den Sum on West 25th St., in a locale they’ve identified but prefer not to reveal just yet. Also on tap are additional trucks to spread the Dim Sum lovin’ to a wider audience.

“We had reached the peak of what we could do working out of a small catering kitchen,” says Hodgson. “We run out of food every day, our staff isn’t big enough.”

In an attempt to transfer the same level of fun and excitement from truck to restaurant, Hodgson says he will create a totally open kitchen concept where chefs double as servers, as is the case with the Chevy van that constitutes their current enterprise. As for those rigs: Look for more of them boasting longer hours, with breakfast service being added to the fold. Plans call for a springtime opening. — Douglas Trattner